Educational - Ozean Publications

European Journal of Educational Studies 2(2), 2010A lot of studies has been carried out in most countries of the world on how pupils learn effectively in the classroom,but little research has been done on teacher’s effectiveness from the point of view of the teachers. That is howteachers see their own capacities with regard to the process and learning outcomes in the formal school system. Thestudy of teacher efficacy has gained significant attention from educators over the past two decades because it greatlyinfluences a broad range of behaviours in students and teachers. According to (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2001; Linet al., 2002)’when teachers are highly efficacious, their students are found to have a high level of academicachievement, autonomy, motivation and a firm belief in their own efficacy’. Teacher efficacy also affects a teacher’slevels of aspiration, openness to new ideas and persistence in the face of difficulty among teachers. Efficaciousteachers are more likely to stay in teaching, put more time into teaching and show greater effort in classroomplanning and organization and greater enthusiasm for teaching. Ho & Hau, (2004), stressed that highly efficaciousteachers are more sensitive to the needs of students, less critical of student mistakes, more willing to work longerwith students who have problems, and make a greater contribution to the learning experiences of students .The study of teachers’ self -efficacy is a necessity in a developing country like Botswana, because teachers have tobe accountable for the academic development of their pupils, since the government of Botswana is spending a lot ofmoney on the educational system. Considering the government of Botswana’s huge investment in public education,its output in terms of quality of students’ performance have been observed to be unequal with governmentexpenditure. This can be observed using the JC examination results in all subjects over the years, which reveals thata lot of pupils are still performing below the country’s expectation, and this may be due to so many factors, but theteacher factor should not be ignored. It will then be necessary to find out from Botswana JSS teachers how theyperceive their own effectiveness/ self efficacy in schools. The purpose of the study is to find out from the juniorsecondary school (JSS) teachers in Botswana their perceptions of self-efficacy/ effectiveness and the followingresearch questions were addressed:(i) What are the perceived levels of self-efficacy of junior secondary teachers in Botswanaschools?(ii) Which of the items on the self-efficacy scale do the teachers fail to perceive as part of theirteaching effectiveness ?Significance of the studyThis research study will be of significance to the educational system in Botswana, Ministry of Education, schoolsand Colleges of Education training teachers for the junior secondary schools in Botswana to be fully aware ofteachers’ perceived self-efficacy. It will also provide the current level of teachers’ effectiveness/ self-efficacy ofthe current JSS teachers in schools, and the government can provide ways of boosting teachers self –efficacy in thepositive directions.LITERATURE REVIEWThe importance of teacher efficacy is stressed by Morin and Welsh (1991) who stated that "an educator with highteaching efficacy will engage in activities that promote the development of competencies, whereas teachers with lowefficacy may avoid engaging in those activities" (pp. 3-4). It seems reasonable to conclude that the higher a teacher'ssense of efficacy, the more successful that teacher will be in facilitating desirable student outcomes. The relationshipbetween teacher efficacy and teacher effectiveness was explored by Gibson and Dembo (1984). They observed thatteachers' beliefs in their own abilities to teach students may contribute to individual teacher differences ineffectiveness. "One would predict that teachers who believe student learning can be influenced by effectiveteaching, and who also have confidence in their own teaching abilities, should persist longer, provide a greateracademic focus in the classroom, and exhibit different types of feedback than teachers who have lower expectationsconcerning their ability to influence student learning" (p. 570).Pigge and Marso (1993) compared a group of pre-service teachers projected to become outstanding teachers and agroup of in-service teachers recognized to be outstanding who were at early, mid, and late stages of their careers. In141